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Uses for Bees: Security

On the topic of prepping functionality, let’s discuss a topic outside of the traditional bee box; le’s talk about a human home’s security. Yes, it is usually a good idea to protect your hive to keep it safe, but what about the bee’s owners? Are they protected? I have noticed very quickly, since raising bees, the level of fear they invoke in humans. (I’d also like to make a suggestion that human-bee relations can be best improved with a 40-60-inch tall solid fence approximately four feet in front and also to the side of hive entrances; this forces the bees to fly upward rather than outward.) Since bees are like any other animal that will be grouchy if provoked, they can be counted on to do just that in certain scenarios.

A beehive can become a very valuable force multiplier in an engagement or hostile situation on a property. The most air traffic will occur 20-45 feet in front of the entrance and 45-60 degrees to each side of it. This pattern varies between hives but is a general guide regardless of orientation.

This can be used to one’s advantage when trying to keep people away from areas of your property and to make you products at the same time. A beehive can be rigged or physically pushed to fall over and “spill” its occupants, causing agitated bees to spill out and attack anything within range (25-100 feet). This can be done with a metal lever that can be hit, at close or far ranges. Sometimes just a really big thud (like a rock or bat) on the box gets them jazzed up enough to send out protection squads.

A new method I have been testing with great success is a hive body with a “blow-out” panel that is built into the entrance side of the box. (You’ll see the end of the frames). I cut a rectangular hole in the hive box, leaving two inches minimum on each side of the hole to keep rigidity. I then made a wood piece that fit just inside that hole and secured it by screwing it to a board, which then was attached across the hive side. Think of a drawer, but the drawer only goes as deep as your hive box is thick. Then I attached a piece of thick metal that sticks out past the side of the hive to the insert piece. Keep the panel attached to the hive box for a week or so at first to let them glue it in place, and then the supports can be removed. Just be sure to really secure your lever to the panel, as the bees will glue that sucker in and it does take effort to dislodge it. A run by smack with a bat or similar impact as mentioned above dislodges the panel, opening up a hole in the hive. A hole that size, instantly opened loudly, makes for angry bees and does not require the whole hive to be tipped over. Not as many bees come out, but then you don’t have to tip the whole hive over. I also use it as an inspection window occasionally during the summer.

The boxes or panel can be gathered up and put back together once hit without total losses, as long as an animal or weather doesn’t kill them. I can assure you that any bees bothered at night are not happy bees. Do not bother them at night, especially if you have a light on, like a headlamp. They will fly right to the light if provoked at night; in the case of a headlamp, their target would be your head! This could work great for intruders though. If you work a hive in the day and they are all of a sudden really grouchy, you can bet something has been messing with them at night. (By the way, dark colored things get attacked quickest, as their predators are usually dark colored.)

If there are bears in your area, I highly recommend putting up two strands of heavy duty solar supplied electric fence around your hives or property. At least one wire at 5” for small critters and one at 36” for big critters. It’s not prohibitively expensive. Stake chicken wire around the fence on the ground in order to ground it. If you don’t have bears but have a skunk problem, take a couple of soda cans and cut a skinny, non-tapered Christmas tree shape in the rolled out metal. Then, take the “branches” of the tree shape and fold them all up in the same direction. You now have a spike strip which you can screw down on the front of your hive so animals won’t lean their paws on it. The bees go right around them.

This security use of hives would be best in temperate to moderate climate regions, but they will work in very cold areas also. The only issue is that bees cannot fly or live very long in temperatures below 40. However, during the winter, nasty vegetation, like thorny black berries (which the bees love in summer) can assist with your protection scheme. Pruning blackberries in spring yields lots of “deterrent fence” as I call it. Cut it, and toss it in a place you want nobody to cross. Before you know it, you will have a small hedge that people will avoid and that small animals/birds will live in. This works wonders for perimeters of properties, and it can be just as nasty as barbwire. It is always best to approach protection philosophies in redundancy. Isn’t everything better with “two is one”? In this situation, you get three– protection, bee food, and human food!

What if a threat is out of range from hives? I was discussing the hive security principle with a friend of mine when he made the joke “Why don’t you just make mini hives to launch at bad guys?” Not long after that comment, I inadvertently tested that principle. I had a small nucleus box knocked into the air by my own clumsiness, and the bees poured out the second they hit dirt. It was a cloud of bees, so I quietly apologized and stepped away for 20 minutes with full bee gear on to let them chill out. I pity the poor soul without gear on who gets a bee bomb broken at his feet! Africanized southern bees really shine for this, due to their persistence in attacking.

Get creative if making a “fling box”. Any strip of wood with an edge down its length will allow bees to make comb; they just have to be around 1” wide and spaced 1.25” center to center to make proper comb. An item 6-8 inch cubed works perfect for a fling box. (I just had to try it with comb and no bees.) The box will be a one-time use, so take that into account when building. The best way to make these is to make the bottoms removable and set them next to each other on top of an active brood area (preferably from your launch position). Lift the box off the hive, lock on the bottom, fling, and pity the target. They can get heavy, so trial with some bungees so you know which works for you. I had success with four strands of heavy surgical tubing each side with a leather pouch.

Just be sure that when you launch the box, you do so slowly and gradually; think a sling and not a cannon. Otherwise, the bees are on you. I’m glad I tried this with no bees, as the first box helicoptered out of my DIY dog ball launcher and broke 10 feet in front of me! If a person could raise or harvest hornets/yellow jackets, this would be a dynamite application for SHTF. I haven’t been brave enough to try that, yet. Stinging insects = natures biological weapons

Finding Bees: Before and After SHTF

During normal societal operation, bees can be purchased in “nucleus” colonies or “packages” of bees. Either one ranges from $75-$150, and both will get you started easily. I happen to prefer nuc colonies, since they have everything they need already and are less likely to leave to find a new home if they don’t like your hive.

Bees can be purchased or traded from a beekeeper, but you can also find wild sources in addition. The easiest way to find wild hives is to “bee-line” field bees back to their home. To do this, you simply need some honey, a container of some sort, and some powdered sugar. I put out a chair and sit in a bright colored shirt (they will use you as a landmark), with the honey out in front of me on a flat surface. The forager bees can smell honey from a long way off and come quickly. I have attracted them best in the fall, but I have had this work all year.

Once a bee is eating the honey, carefully place the container, preferably a clear container, over the honey. (I like a container with a big hole in the bottom covered by a window screen.) Let the bee(s) in it eat their fill, and then try to cover them with powdered sugar. This does not hurt them, and is actually how I treat them for mites in my hives come fall (as it encourages grooming). It stands out just enough to identify them upon return. After they are full, they will want to fly off in a bee-line back to their hive, where they will likely tell others and come back. Take the container off and let them leave.

Once a bee leaves, start a timer and stay put, noting the exact direction it went. (It helps to draw on paper with a compass.) Wait for powdered bees to return. Once you see your first bee come back, note the time on your timer, and repeat as necessary. After a few minutes, you will see more and more bees returning to you. When the marked bees leave and return in three minutes or less, its hive is within a quarter mile. When your marked bees leave and return in 5-10 minutes, their hive is likely a half mile or more away. At 10-20 minutes leave-return, their hive is likely more than a mile away. You can do this multiple times on farther travel lines, moving a quarter mile at a time on the line the bees take. This will get you close to the hive, so use your eyes and ears and you will see them zipping through the fields and trees when close to the hive. The timing thing was documented a long time ago by others, but I can confirm that it is fairly accurate from the hives I have tracked. Just remember, the hive you find could be a beekeeper’s, so be polite.

It is very important to remember that, although this can be done in times of normalcy or of turmoil, it is important not to destroy any wild hives. Honeybees have enough trouble living in this contaminated world we have created. I do have a recommendation though for everyone– take pieces or use traps.

When I first woke up to the reality of what we, as humans, are being subjected to on a daily basis, I was indeed in a state of panic. With people killing innocents left and right, genetic “Franken-food”, the poisoning of food and water due to negligence, life can seem real heavy real fast. That feeling of fear was the turning point for me, telling me that I needed to slow my life down and enjoy the wonderful gifts that the Lord has granted us, humans, here on earth.

One marvelous gift that has been granted upon us is the lowly bee. It is amazing how beautiful of a creation they are. Even science was confused how they can fly and support their own weight during flight (not to mention surplus nectar). There are many varieties and species of bees. I will reference most of this article on the honeybee.

A single bee can travel up to 150,000 times its body length in search of food and do so multiple times a day! With every trip, it returns with a miniscule amount of nectar in its little stomach or pollen on its leg baskets to be placed in a cell for future use. That is like running to the next county for a Cheetos and returning until the bag is gone! Let’s now explore what it takes to raise the humble bee and what they can provide for us when cared for properly.

The Equipment

Hive

This is the bee’s home. I myself use eight frame “medium” boxes, which are 19-7/8” x 13-3/4” x 6-5/8” deep on its outside dimensions. (Subtract ¾” on each side for its inside dimensions.) It keeps things from getting too heavy.

Frame

This has become the standard way to manage beehives across the world. It is a removable rectangle made of wood/plastic that the bees “draw” their wax in and make honeycomb (or “comb” for short). All of the top bars are 1-1/16” wide x 19” long, 3/8” thick with a bottom bar length of 17-5/8” and an overall frame height of 6-1/8”. They are removable and rest in a ledge cut out at the top of the box (inside and flush). You can raise bees with bars only with a strip on the center; you just may have more wax to scrape from the box sides. I use bars only in my top boxes on a big hive where only honey goes, since I take both honey and wax when I harvest these boxes anyway using the crush and strain method.

Comb

The cells are made of beeswax and can be used for honey storage, making baby bees, or storing pollen. Its strength is amazing for how light it is.

Knowledge

I cannot provide all knowledge on beekeeping in this article, as volumes have been written on the craft. I would however recommend reading The Practical Beekeeper: Beekeeping Naturally by Michael Bush in addition to Beekeeping for All by Emile Warre (translated by others and usually free as a PDF). I have no affiliation to either, but I have to give credit to all the help these two works made to my beekeeping. These would be a great start for beginners. The Internet, of course, has more info than you can read on the matter as well. Just try one new thing at a time, or you won’t know what works.

The Honeybee

The bee that most people are familiar with is the honeybee. This is the bee that gives us that much coveted substance– honey. Honey is a delicious food, causes less of a severe response than cane sugar, does not spoil (Egyptian tombs contained still edible honey!), and is useful medicinally (burns, allergies, et cetera). I could go on for days about the benefits of unadulterated pure/raw honey, as well as how to raise the bees, but others have covered much more than I in much greater detail already.

I recommend that everyone invest in their future by starting a beehive, though it’s best to start with two beehives. You may notice that once you start a beehive, your whole family may want to join in your new found joy of raising these amazing creatures, as it is increasing in popularity. They take up hardly any room, are easy to care for, and take a very reasonable amount of effort to raise. If you help them where they need it and step out of the way, they will thank you with honey, wax, pollen, and propolis (bee glue), all which have very important homestead functions.

People generally try and avoid bees because most people are scared to death of them going “killer bee” on them. I emphasize that you should always respect bees, no less than you would large, mean dogs. Now that everyone is scared, let me clarify. When you respect the creatures you are working with, bees or otherwise, you are raising that animal as the Lord intended. Kindness and care is rewarded; roughness and shortcuts are not. You will be intimidated opening up a full box of bees your first few weeks or months, but if you respect the animal and do all in your power not to harm them, you will get more comfortable handling them in no time.

In Southern climates, there are high possibilities that your bees have Africanized genetics. (Africanized bees cannot survive cold winters.) This is not the end of the world, but you do need experience working these bees now to know how they like to be handled. For this reason, I recommend all beginning beekeepers procure full bee suits and protective gear.

Pests

Perhaps the most feared and misunderstood pest of honeybees is the varroa mite. These little bugs are the size of a pin head and usually hitch a ride on a bee from flowers or other bee congregation areas. Once in the hive, they look for the biggest cells and breed when bee eggs are laid there. They then drain the bees of bodily fluids and can eventually weaken a hive to the point of death or absconding (where all bees abandon the hive).

Perhaps the biggest factor I have seen in reducing these little monsters is to let the bees build as small a cell as they want for offspring using natural comb (letting them draw from strips). This is usually seen most in wild hives, as the bees are smaller and more numerous. Larger bees were “cultured” by beekeepers who wanted bigger bees to carry back more nectar each trip. I attribute wild bee survival mostly to the smaller cells that wild bees create, hence it’s more difficult for the mites to find room when the babies are laid. Mostly, all plastic bee equipment is too large of a cell size, and this is why I use starting strip frames only.

Another group of pests are what I call “buildup pests”. After a few years of using materials, moisture and sugars as well as a bunch of other things start to concentrate in the pores of wood. These bacteria and fungi (foul brood and Nosema) are a good incentive to change out your equipment every few years. Please read up on these, as your mileage may vary compared to what I do for prevention. That’s why you should start keeping bees now.

The last group of pests are a little easier to treat for. Hive beetles and wax moths are two insects that love the environment of a hive. They crawl in and set up camp, and if not controlled they can wipe out a hive. Hive beetles will start laying in wood crevices and then start to eat around the bees. Wax moths are opportunistic and will lay eggs in the comb so that they can hatch and eat it all up. Both can be present in a healthy hive but usually aren’t. I have found that these two are best managed by keeping a balance with how much space the bees have available. I like the “1/4” rule. For every four frames bees are covering 75% or more of each frame (only ¼ missing), one frame should be added as free space. If you have a hive of 40 frames covered full with bees, 10 empty frames worth still gives room to keep them dense to fight off pests. If some frames have 50% coverage, combine two for your calculations. Also, a small hive entrance (but not congested) allows the hive to guard against pests best.

Hints: Freezing comb kills wax moth and larvae (though it kills everything else too); borax in a straw or pieces of those corrugated plastic political signs with Crisco in the ends helps control hive beetles.